tyyketto, thanks ;-)

Richgit you might need to up your spend a bit if you want 2 good gamming cards for a 4 screen setup,i would say the new 8800 gt is the base to build around if you game alot,the thing is they are about 120 each which is half your budget,then you will need a good power supply to run them,
intel dual core or quad with the right mother,whoops run out of money,

something like this maybe

scussy, thanks

Think your right about grahpic card, but how can you have 2 PCI-Express cards installed when there is only one PCI-express slot on motherboard??

thats the thing,you get a mobo that can take 2 cards,i think some now do 3,mobo
ask the builder and tell them what you want the pc for,
what i have done is use my old single core 8 year old pc to just run charts over multi screens using matrox dual heads,
then have a fast running pc for main pc and gamming ,then you only need one 8800 GT,dual dvi,

I suspect that this is not good enough for what Richgit wants but if you have a spare XP key and want a very cheap upgrade check out this cheap PC.

scussy, optimist thanks ;-)

Managed to spill coffee on my laptop keyboard. All seems to be in working order apart from the backspace, enter, shift and slash keys on the right hand side. Any suggestions (apart from the obvious, don't have liquids near the laptop!) would be very welcome..

Clean Up Laptop Spills - Video Instruction

Step 1:
Shut down the computer immediately.

Step 2:
Wipe up any liquid. Tilt the computer to the side to drain any liquids.

Step 3:
Remove any removable parts from the laptop, including the power cord, printer and mouse cables, the floppy drive, CD drive, modem cards and battery. Do not disassemble the laptop body to remove internal parts.

Step 4:
Once the parts are removed, gently lift the computer and turn it to the side and upside down to drain any liquid. Tilt the computer in a variety of directions to verify that there are no pools of liquid lurking, but be careful not to shake it or handle it roughly.

Step 5:
Repeat with the floppy drive and other removable parts.

Step 6:
Use a hair dryer on a cool setting to dry the laptop and its parts if you can.

Step 7:
Allow the computer and its removable parts to dry for 24 hours before you reassemble it and turn it back on. (If you are under a tight deadline, let the laptop dry for at least an hour before you reassemble it.)

Step 8:
If the computer does not work properly or does not turn on, bring it to a computer repair professional, although the damage might be irreparable. Spills are one of the leading causes of laptop deaths.

thanks execline. I shall turn off and shake in all directions :-)

Drink tea in future.

8-)

Fred :-)

Laptop currently sitting in airing cupboard with its removable parts around it!

I'm still having problems getting new devices to be recognised by the USB on my Win XP Pro laptop.

I've spotted that it lacks the line Generic USB Hub in the Device Manager.

Might this be my problem - and is there a fix?

All help welcome.

Kind regards,

TP

Publisher

Check your laptop manufacturers website for a bios update, there's usually a 'downloads and drivers' section somewhere or other. You'll probably need to know your model number and you usually update the bios from within Windows these days.

If there isn't an update, you usually enter your bios by pressing F1 when you start up your laptop (the bios loads before Windows starts loading).

I don't have anything labeled Generic USB Hub on my laptop which is an Intel model, just a few items labelled 'USB Root Hub' and Intel 'USB Universal Host Controllers' plus a 'USB2 Enhanced Host Controller'.

Give the bios update a try as this is generally a good idea and I suspect you've not ever done this (many people don't). While you're at it have a look round your manufacturer's site in the downloads and drivers section to see if there is any known problems of patches.

After that have a look at a few of the links in this google search -

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=usb+OR+usb2+xp+device+%22not+recognized%22+site%3Asupport.microsoft.com&btnG=Search&meta=

Post up your make and model if you're still having problems.

Hope this helps.

jj50 - I'd pour some distilled water over the area where the coffee spilt and then follow the instructions. Cofffe especially wth sugar in it, will eventually eat through the tracks of the circuit board if not removed.

Miner,

Thanks for those ideas. I managed to get in touch with Asus and they concluded that I had the right bios.

That Google line is interesting and opens up a few new roads to explore.

What I am using is an Asus S5n.

Any further clues will be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

TP

TP

You might like some of the stuff available at

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/page/download_id

Miner,

You have reminded me. I had an office PC that refused to recognise it's internal CD and it turned out to be this Upper/Lower Filter problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925196

Snag is that I can't delete the two entries it asks me to. Maybe something to do with the 'rights'.

Back to the experimenting.

TP

Exec,

Wow, what a treasure trove.

Tried this http://scan.esupport.com/?CFID=2783901&CFTOKEN=58932890

and it said that all my USB drivers were out of date

http://driveragent.com/driveragent_results.php?hwid=2e204026d738ac6357604a9fae837a76&ticket=17LKLQZ&PHPSESSID=2pa3eco5higehkmn8t59m29td1

I am not sure whether you'd be able to read that link. Is this Driver Agent operation safe to use.

Foregive me if that link is not showing correctly. I can do it the proper way if it helps.

TP

TP

Here's some more from the web site of the guys who look after my computing needs when I really do need the professionals:-

http://www.computerdoctors.uk.net/pages/links.htm

As far as I am concerned, if they recommend it or give a link to a site to get it, then it's OK.

You say, "Is this Driver Agent operation safe to use?"

Hmmm? Well it comes from Touchstone Software and they have been in business for over 20 years. I guess they must be reasonably ethical.

Here's their Terms of Use for Driver Agent: http://driveragent.com/privacy.php

Of course, you will need to download their specific version of Active-X to do a scan. Nice to see it is specific to them.

Importantly:

Q. G8. Does DriverAgent install any other software onto my PC?
A. No! When you scan with DriverAgent, no other software is installed onto your PC. Our DriverAgent Scan Technology is 100% Guaranteed Adware Free, Spyware Free, and Virus Free.

Hmmm? Yes. I'd give it a go.

I've had a quick look at the asus drivers page, I wouldn't bother with the driveragent thing. USB drivers are included in Windows if you have an Intel motherboard (which you do). I can't see anything obvious to do with USB except a BIOS update.

What USB devices are you trying to connect? You might need a driver for the devices and maybe have to use the Add Hardware control panel applet to scan for new hardware.

Leave it with me and I'll have a think and little look at a few things. I'll try and get back to you either later today or by tomorrow.